ITALY - LIBERTAD ACT TITLE III WAIVER REVIEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 002517 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2014 TAGS: PREL PHUM ETTC CU IT HUMAN RIGHTS SUBJECT: ITALY - LIBERTAD ACT TITLE III WAIVER REVIEW REF: STATE 135512 CLASSIFIED BY: A/POL MINISTER-COUNSELOR GARY ROBBINS FOR REASONS 1.5 (B ) AND (D). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) MISSION BELIEVES RENEWING THE TITLE III LIBERTAD ACT WAIVER WOULD ENHANCE THE POSSIBILITY OF INCREASED US-ITALIAN COOPERATION ON CUBA AND HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON ALREADY STRONG BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH ITALY. ITALIAN POLICY TOWARDS CUBA FOLLOWS THE EU COMMON POSITION ON CUBA, WHICH IS BASED ON "CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT." WHILE IN THE EU PRESIDENCY IN JULY 2003, ITALY LED THE EU TO CONDEMN STRONGLY THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT FOR ITS NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS EU MEMBER STATES AND FOR THE DETERIORATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ON THE ISLAND. FURTHER BILATERAL COOPERATION ON CUBA POLICY COULD BEST BE ENSURED BY RENEWING THE TITLE III LIBERTAD ACT WAIVER. END SUMMARY. RECENT ITALY-CUBA ECONOMIC ACTIVITY -------------- ¶2. (C) ON JUNE 25, WE DISCUSSED ITALY-CUBA RELATIONS WITH PAOLO MIRAGLIA, MFA OFFICE DIRECTOR FOR CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN. MIRAGLIA SAID THAT ABOUT 140 ITALIAN COMPANIES HAVE SOME KIND OF BUSINESS CONTACT WITH CUBA. MOST ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE FOOD AND TOURISM INDUSTRIES. MIRAGLIA REPORTED THAT ITALIAN EXPORTS TO CUBA IN 2003 TOTALED ABOUT 190 MILLION EURO WHILE IMPORTS FROM CUBA WERE AROUND 10 MILLION EURO - REPRESENTING A REDUCTION IN BILATERAL TRADE OF ABOUT 20 PER CENT IN COMPARISON WITH 2002. HE STATED THAT THIS DECREASE IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY WAS, IN PART, A REFLECTION OF THE HARSHER LINE TAKEN BY THE EU AND ITALY SINCE THE MARCH 2003 CRACKDOWN ON DISSIDENTS BY THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT. ITALIAN AND EU POLICY TOWARDS CUBA -------------- ¶3. (C) ITALIAN POLICY TOWARDS CUBA FOLLOWS THE EU COMMON POSITION ON CUBA, WHICH DATES BACK TO 1996 AND IS BASED ON "CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT," WHICH SUPPORTS "THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF A PROCESS OF PEACEFUL TRANSITION TO A PLURALIST DEMOCRACY AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS." ALTHOUGH THE JUNE 8 EVALUATION OF THE EU COMMON POSITION REITERATED THESE OBJECTIVES, OUR INTERLOCUTORS NOTE THAT RELATIONS WITH CUBA DRAMATICALLY DETERIORATED TO AN ALL TIME LOW AFTER THE MARCH 2003 CRACKDOWN. NOTWITHSTANDING THE POLICY OF CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT, IN JULY 2003 ITALY (AS EU PRESIDENCY) LED THE EU TO CONDEMN STRONGLY THE UNACCEPTABLE ATTITUDE OF THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT TOWARDS EU DELEGATIONS IN HAVANA, TO CITE THE DETERIORATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ON THE ISLAND, AND TO ADOPT THE FOLLOWING MEASURES: LIMITATION OF HIGH-LEVEL BILATERAL GOVERNMENTAL VISITS; REDUCED PARTICIPATION IN CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC EVENTS ORGANIZED BY CUBAN AUTHORITIES; AND INVITATIONS TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE POLITICAL OPPOSITION AND FAMILY MEMBERS OF IMPRISONED DISSIDENTS TO NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS IN HAVANA. ¶4. (C) ON A BILATERAL BASIS, ITALY ALSO SUSPENDED COOPERATION PROGRAMS IN JULY 2003 (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HUMANITARIAN AID),LIMITED HIGH-LEVEL BILATERAL MINISTERIAL VISITS (NO BILATERAL VISITS HAVE OCCURRED DURING THE LAST SIX MONTHS) AND REDUCED ITS PROFILE IN CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC EVENTS. MIRAGLIA NOTED THAT THE EU COMMON POSITION HAS LED TO INCREASED CRITICISM OF THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT AND HAS PROVIDED AN IMPORTANT PLATFORM FOR MORAL SUPPORT FOR CUBAN CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENTS WHILE MAINTAINING ITS POLICY OF CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT. HE STRESSED THE NEED TO CONTINUE ENGAGING CUBA IN ORDER TO OPEN FURTHER ITS ECONOMY. COMMENT: TITLE III WAIVER -------------- ¶5. (C) WE BELIEVE THAT RENEWAL OF THE TITLE III WAIVER WOULD NOT JEOPARDIZE US NATIONAL INTERESTS IN ITALY. RATHER, IT WOULD HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR ALREADY STRONG BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH ITALY AND THE PROSPECTS OF FURTHER COOPERATION ON CUBA POLICY, AS EVIDENCED BY THE PAST YEAR'S ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE EU AND BY ITALY. IMPOSITION OF THE TITLE III LIBERTAD ACT MEASURES, IN CONTRAST, COULD HINDER US-ITALY COOPERATION ON CUBA. VISIT ROME'S CLASSIFIED WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.STATE.SGOV.GOV/P/EUR/ROME/INDEX.CF M SEMBLER NNNN 2004ROME02517 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL